Weekly Daf #170

Temurah 30-Krisos 3 - Issue #1705-11 Iyar 5757 / 12-18 May 1997

The Burned and the Buried

There are two categories of forbidden matter which must be eliminated
so that no one will derive any benefit from them. One category
requires burial. This includes, among others, meat and milk which
have been cooked together, and a non-sanctified animal which has
been slaughtered in the Sanctuary. The second category, of which
chametz on Pesach is one example, requires burning.

One may not bury what requires burning nor burn what must be buried.
Burial does not suffice for what is to be burned, explains Rashi,
because there is the danger that someone may unearth it and make
illegal use of it. Burning is improper for what is to be buried,
explains the Gemara, because there is a difference in the legal
status of the ashes. Anything which the Torah commanded us to
burn ceases to retain its forbidden status once we have fulfilled
this command; its ashes are therefore permitted for use. An item
which we bury because the Torah did not command us to burn it
has no limit set on how long it remains forbidden; its ashes are
therefore still forbidden. The result is that if we burn what
needs only to be buried we run the risk of using the ashes which
are still forbidden.

Rabbi Akiva Eiger challenges the reason given by Rashi for not
burying what must be burned because of the fear that it may be
unearthed and used. Since there is a Torah command to burn such
an item, he asks, is this not sufficient reason to prohibit us
from burying it since this prevents its being burned?

Temurah 34a

Too Early, Too Sudden

The name of the Masechta we begin this week - Krisos
- is the multiple form of the word for the heavenly punishment
of kares incurred by serious, intentional violations of
Torah law. Our very first mishnah lists 36 such sins mentioned
in the Torah.

What does kares actually consist of?

The first time it is mentioned in the Torah (Bereishis
17:14) is in regard to the heavenly punishment for a male descendant
of Avraham (later narrowed down to descendants of Yaakov) who
will fail to become circumcised. Rashi explains that this means
he will die childless and before his time. This approach is repeated
in Rashi's commentary in MasechtaShabbos (25a)
where he explains the difference between the kares meted
out for graver sins and "death at the hands of Heaven"
incurred for lesser ones. Both consist of premature death, but
kares also includes the loss of the children (if they were
minors at the time of the parent's punishment - Tosefos).

While Rashi does not delineate the age for premature death, the
Gemara in MasechtaMo'edKatan (28a) indicates
that kares means death before sixty, while no exact figure
is mentioned for the other form of premature death. The Talmud
Yerushalmi, however, defines kares as dying before fifty,
whereas the other form of premature death takes place before sixty.

An interesting problem is raised in the Yerushalmi. What sort
of kares is there for a man who eats forbidden animal fats
(or any other sin deserving kares) when he has already
passed the age of fifty (or sixty according to our Babylonian
Talmud)? The answer given is that he dies a sudden death which
is also a form of kares.

This form of kares is mentioned in an incident related
in the aforementioned Gemara about Rabbi Yosef who made a feast
for his fellow sages when he reached the age of sixty since he
saw this as an indication that he had not committed any sin deserving
of kares. His disciple, the Sage Abaye, reminded him that
even though he was beyond the kares of years he still faced
the danger of a kares of days - a sudden death. Rabbi
Yosef's response was that passing the kares of years alone
was a cause for celebration, but his disciple's challenge introduced
the concept of a kares of days which threatens a sinner
at any age.